The air hung heavy over the room. The lonely cry of a bald eagle in the distance penetrated the deep silence. The NPDs were out and they were bad. Nothing more needed to be said, as everyone in the room was contemplating the bleak future ahead. The system architect had had enough. In a sudden lurch, he stormed out of the room and through the corridors. The walls that were towering above him were as the walls of his own personal prison. The hurried pace of his long, elegant steps drew the attention of everyone he passed, but they knew better than to disturb him. Eventually he reached the hidden away recluse that he shared sometimes with Shu. Their closeness was a well-known secret, but everyone kept quiet about it, out of respect. The discarded wrappers of a hurried McDonald's dinner lay strewn across the room. In his rage, Mark tore them into pieces. Just as he was rummaging his pockets for his lighter, Shu came into the room.
"Hey, Mark, calm down. This is not the end of the world", said Shu.
"That's easy for you to say", Mark snapped back. "It is not your creation that failed, that is the laughing stock of all of gaming. But it is not only I who have failed. Not only Sony. But our glorious country lost Today. We are not what we were. We have stagnated. Become a country of old men and dashed ambitions. Today, Japan was beaten by the agile America. Her free market made a country of winners, ambition and superior technology. Today not only signals the end of Sonym but the end of the hopes and dreams of our entire nation."
Shu tried to placate him with a gentle kiss on the neck.
"Come on, it's not over ye-"
"Shut up! You are just in denial. Who cares about pre-season. We lost the big one! We could possibly have afforded to lose this month, but we lost China, our final hope, this month as well. We allowed the gaijins to get China all to themselves. If even 1% of their population buys that dirty product, that's 13 million units sold." Now his voice was rising in a towering crescendo. "There is no way we could recover from that. It is over. All our hard work. All the lies we told about our hardware before launch. All the money we paid to Bish to spread the gospel. It was all for nothing. Well, I have had enough. It ends Today!" he shouted
But the following silence rang almost as loud.
"W-what do you mean?"
Silently, Mark walked over to the rack near the wall, where he kept his katana collection. He picked up a wakisashi.
"Please, Mark, reconsider" Shu begged him. I will draw up a nice warm bath for us. You don't have to do this.
"But I do. I have failed us all. I have failed our country. I have failed the Emperor. I have brought eternal shame upon my ancestors. My honour is gone. I have no option but to end it all. Here and now, according to the traditions of our ancestors."
"Mark, don't be silly. No one does that these days. You were not even born here.
"Shu, I love you", Mark said, and plunged the blade into his gut.
He could feel pain spreading from his stomach. And up his spine and down his legs and up his neck. But there was something else there as well. Welling up inside him growing stronger every moment. And he started imagining things. He could smell the invigorating scent of hamburgers sizzling in a skillet. The feeling of a gun in his hand. And the sensation growing inside him was growing every stronger. In his minds eye he could see broad stripes and bright stars o'er the ramparts so gallantly streaming. He was vaguely aware of Shu shouting. No? That was not Shu. It was someone far more studly. Phil's chiseled pecs were gently brushing against his shoulder as sweet words were whispered in his ears, about content and experiences, and the infinite power of the cloud. And the sensation inside him was now a roaring storm, welling up ever more vigorous in his loins, drowning out the world with its all-encompassing whiteness.
In a basement at the other end of the world, Hindle woke up in his bed, feeling flustered.
